REAGAN'S POLICY IN THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR

This research paper summarizes and evaluates the policies pursued by the Reagan Administration during the war between Iran and Iraq (1980-1988). The basic policy of the United States during that period was to maintain a balance of power in the Middle East which after 1982 resulted in a decided tilt of the United States to support of Iraq. That policy served American interests well during the war, except for one glaring inconsistency, the administration's abortive attempts to arrange arms for hostages deals with Iran which backfired and led to the Irangate controversy. The continuation of an accommodating policy toward Iraq after the end of the war is more controversial and led to the Gulf War, but President George Bush not President Ronald Reagan, must bear responsibility for not adapting policy quickly enough to meet new realities. American Policy toward Iran and Iraq Prior to 1980

During the 1970s, American policy was oriented toward building up Iran under the Shah as a force for stability in the region. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Iraq were ruptured as a consequence of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. After 1972, Iraq became a close military ally of the Soviet Union and "took a leading role in organizing Arab opposition to the diplomatic initiatives of the United States, such as the Camp David accord of 1979 between Israel and Egypt" (Metz 205).

Under the Nixon and Ford administratio

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nother factor was the dependence of Japan and the West on petroleum from the Gulf region, the reserves of which accounted for 420.9 billion barrels out of a world total of 795.4 billion (Hiro 262). Secretary of State George Schultz said: "our support for Iraq increased in rough proportion to Iran's military successes . . . the United States was engaged in a limited form of balance of power policy" (237). Secret talks between Schultz and other American envoys with Iraq began in late 1982, leading to full American diplomatic recognition of Iraq in November, 1984. Intelligence on Iranian troop movements obtained by American reconnaissance satellites and American AWACs planes on loan to Saudi Arabia was made available to Baghdad. Operation Staunch, a diplomatic effort to dissuade American allies from selling arms to Iran, was launched in the spring of 1983. America directly and through the Export-Import Bank sent substantial economic aid to Iraq, principally foodstuffs, and some arms such as transport planes and helicopters. In November, 1983, Iraq was removed from the list of countries supporting international terrorism and Iran was added to the list in January, 1984 after the truck bombing of the marines in Beirut. U.S.-Iraqi trad
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Approximate Word count = 1402
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)